River's Biker Heroes [The Ghost Riders 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Marla Monroe

  Unlike before, she couldn’t hear any busy hospital sounds from the hall outside her room. Instead, she began to notice a light snoring sound and moved her head around as much as she felt able to locate the source of the sound. The sight drew a smile from her sore lips. Curled up as much as a man his size could manage on a recliner was Merrick. One arm was thrown over the arm of the chair with his hand resting on the floor. One leg hung off the side while the other leg extended so that his foot and at least three inches of his lower leg hung from the bottom of the reclined chair. He couldn’t be comfortable like that. A low, buzzing snore robbed her of that thought right away though. He’d managed to fall asleep.

  River assessed her body, trying to figure out what all was wrong. She remembered them talking about broken ribs, so she knew about them. She managed to lift one arm to feel her face and moaned when she brushed her fingers across one cheek.

  “What’s wrong? Are you in pain?”

  Merrick’s voice startled her and she jumped, eliciting another moan from the pain it caused her ribs. She gritted her teeth through it until she could speak.

  “No, I was trying to figure out where I was hurt and pressed my cheek too hard. I guess I’m bruised there, too.”

  “Sweet thing, there isn’t an inch of your body that doesn’t have some sort of bruise on it,” he said then smiled. “Well, maybe your lower legs, but even your feet had bruises on them.”

  River frowned. Why would her feet be bruised? What had happened to her?

  “What happened to me? Where am I?” she finally whispered.

  “You don’t remember?” Merrick frowned. He had been leaning over, but now he straightened his chair and pulled it closer to her.

  “No,” she said.

  “What’s the last thing you remember?” he asked instead of giving her a straight answer.

  It annoyed her and she glared at him. “I don’t know. I remember being in South America photographing free trade coffee farms. That seems like a long time ago though. I was there in June. What month is it now?” she asked.

  By the look on Merrick’s face, it wasn’t June or probably even July. He blinked then blinked again.

  “Are you sure you don’t remember anything after that?” he asked. “’Cause I hate to tell you, but you’re in Texas, not South America.”

  “I figured I wasn’t in South America already. That’s just the last thing I remember. I can’t remember flying back though.”

  “When were you scheduled to fly back?” he asked.

  “I had an open ticket up until July fifteenth. Then I had to be on a plane back to the states. So I guess I flew home sometime between mid-June and July fifteenth,” she said with a frown.

  Something kept niggling at her brain. What was it? Danger. She kept thinking that there was danger.

  “It’s September fifteenth, River. You’re missing a good two and a half months or more.”

  River gaped at him. Her throat worked but she couldn’t seem to make anything come out. She could feel the raw edges making her think she would gag and throw up if she didn’t get something to drink.

  “Water,” she croaked out.

  The big man lunged to his feet and grabbed the mug with the straw in it and shoved it into her face before grasping the straw and putting it between her lips. She sipped thankfully at the cool water. It soothed her sore throat and gave her a few seconds to try and reason away losing that much time. Sure, she’d lost days before when out on a shoot where there were no clocks or deadlines, but never more than two or three days at a time. Everyone lost track of what day of the week it was at some point. But months?

  She pulled back from the straw. “Thank you.”

  He set the plastic mug on the bedside table but didn’t return to sit down. Instead he remained standing next to the bed. She had to strain to look up and see his face. The other alternative was to stare at his crotch, which was at eye level with her where he stood. She smothered a smile at the impressive bulge, wondering if that was his usual state or if he was a little aroused.

  Hell! Who am I kidding? I look like seven-day-old roadkill and I’m thinking he might have a hard-on.

  She sighed. That meant the man was hung like a freaking elephant. What she wouldn’t give to be the recipient of his attentions. Not going to happen though. She wasn’t a play-around sort of woman and he wouldn’t be interested even if she was.

  River looked up and frowned when she realized he had been watching her face all that time. He now knew that she’d been crotch watching. She could feel her face warm with embarrassment.

  “If you’d sit back down, I wouldn’t have to stare at your fly,” she grumbled.

  He chuckled but took a seat on the edge of the recliner with his elbows resting on his knees and his lower arms hanging down between his legs. His big body dwarfed the recliner and made the entire room seem tiny. She couldn’t take her eyes off of his hands. They were massive yet clean. As she let her gaze travel back up, she realized the vest he wore was actually a biker’s vest with various patches and pins on it.

  “You don’t remember coming to Texas? Do you have family around here or a job here?” Merrick’s husky voice jerked her back to their earlier conversation.

  “Actually, I don’t know a soul in Texas. I can’t imagine why I would be here,” she confessed.

  “What do you do for a living?” he asked.

  “I’m a freelance photojournalist. I document and investigate international events and issues for different magazines and news agencies,” she told him.

  “And you know about English poets, pianists, and Greek scholars.” Merrick shook his head with a smile.

  She shrugged and groaned when it pulled on her sides. Merrick frowned and stood up.

  “I need to get the nurse and let her know you’re awake. I’m sure they’re going to want to check you.” He crossed the short distance to the door in one long stride then pulled it open and walked out.

  River wasn’t sure what to make of the big man, or his brother for that matter. Why were they there with her? Had she somehow ended up on their front doorstep or something? Nothing in her muddled mind made sense. She closed her eyes and prayed things would improve soon. She desperately needed her memory of where she’d been the last few months to return. That vague feeling of danger just wouldn’t go away.

  * * * *

  By the time the doctor finished poking and ordering more tests on her, River was ready to scream, only her throat hurt too much to follow through. According to her physician, she had injuries that were consistent with a thorough methodical beating that occurred over several days to weeks. She had four broken ribs and two more cracked ones as well as a hairline crack to her right cheek and her nose. She had a mild case of pneumonia that they figured was due to her cracked ribs and poor nutritional state. She was dehydrated and slightly malnourished as well.

  How can I be malnourished with an ass like mine?

  Everything they had told her pointed to having been held captive for some length of time which would account to where her missing time had gone. She still couldn’t remember anything though.

  “It’s not uncommon for a trauma patient to lose chunks of memory surrounding the incident. It may or may not return. There’s really no need to be too alarmed about it,” the man had said.

  “Is he kidding? Evidently I was kidnapped, held prisoner for some unknown length of time and tortured, and he thinks I shouldn’t worry about it.”

  “What?” Two voices asked at the same time.

  River groaned when she jerked in reaction to their voices. Merrick and his brother stood in the open doorway wearing fierce expressions. They’d evidently overheard her short rant.

  “Hi. Sorry. I’m having a tiny meltdown. Just ignore me.”

  “Did you say you were kidnapped and tortured? You can remember now?” Merrick asked, walking over to stand next to her bed. Cassius followed and stuffed his hands in the front pockets of his jeans.

  “No, I st
ill can’t remember anything, but the doctor said that based on my injuries, it looked like I’d been kidnapped and kept somewhere for at least a few weeks. I’m supposedly dehydrated and malnourished. The dehydrated part I totally get, but malnourished? Come on. I’ve got an ass as wide as a semi and my…”

  “Don’t say it,” Cassius said with a low growl. “He’s right. Look at how your skin is sagging on your arms and around your neck.”

  “Gee, thanks. I hadn’t noticed that part,” she said sarcastically.

  “Good going, Romeo,” Merrick muttered.

  “I’m just saying that she can’t talk about herself that way. She doesn’t have a fat ass.”

  “Nope. I agree with dimwit. It’s not fat. It’s nice and squeezable. Just like I like them,” he said with a grin.

  River couldn’t help but smile as she carefully shook her head. Why were they being so nice to her? Now was a good time to find out why they were even hanging around. Didn’t they have jobs?

  “Look. Not that I’m not grateful for your company or anything, but why are you here? Who are you?”

  “We told you who we were. Don’t you remember?” Cassius asked.

  “No. I mean, yes. I do remember your names, but not who you are to me and why you’re here,” she explained.

  “Oh,” Merrick said with a frown.

  “So?” she prompted.

  “We found you on the side of the road when were on our way back to the club house the other night,” Cassius said. “I nearly ran over you when I pulled off the road to wait for the sun to go down. It was blinding me.”

  “I was on the side of the road? Why hadn’t anyone else stopped to check on me?” she asked.

  “It’s a fairly deserted road that nobody much uses anymore,” Merrick explained. “We don’t normally ride it because it’s hell on a bike, but we took it to cut down time from where we’d been. Otherwise we would have had to drive another forty minutes out of our way.”

  “So if you hadn’t decided to brave the bad road to cut down on time, I probably wouldn’t be alive right now,” she said. “Thanks.”

  She really meant it but wasn’t sure what more to say. They’d saved her life. What did you say to someone that had gone out of their way to do that? Thanks didn’t seem a strong enough word.

  “Wait a minute. Did you call an ambulance to come get me? I would have thought that would have been the end of it for you. Why have you been staying with me? I know you have because every time I woke up one of you was here.” She looked from one man to the other.

  “Um, we didn’t think you’d last while we waited for an ambulance to make it all the way out where you were, so we called some friends to bring a truck and we loaded you up and brought you here,” Cassius explained.

  “Wow. I owe a lot of people for my life. I doubt I can ever repay any of you for going out of your way like that,” she said quietly.

  “You don’t owe any of us a thing. Just get well.” Merrick actually looked embarrassed.

  She smiled at the big man. He was cute when he blushed. She doubted anyone had ever made him blush like that before, and if she said anything about it he would deny it.

  “We need to figure out why someone would kidnap you and hurt you, Raven. Did you call your family and let them know you’re okay?” Cassius asked.

  “I tried my parents, but they didn’t answer. They’re off at some dig somewhere. I left a message to tell them I’m alive and that I would call again later.” She waved that away. “I need to check my messages, but I don’t have a computer or a phone. I don’t have a clue where any of my things are now.”

  “Oh, well, we brought you some things to get you by. Didn’t bring a laptop, but we can bring one next time for you to borrow while you’re here.” Merrick grabbed a bag he’d set on the chair behind him.

  Reaching in, he pulled out a cell phone. It was one of those pay-as-you-go kinds you could get at any convenience store. He handed it to her along with the bag.

  “Raven sent you some basic things you might need. She figured you would feel better if you could freshen up some once you were allowed out of bed,” Cassius told her.

  She peeked into the bag and smiled. Along with some basic toiletries were a brush and several changes of underwear along with a couple of gowns. They looked brand new and nice—not cheap. Tears brimmed her eyelids. She quickly blinked them back and smiled at the two men.

  “Tell her thank you. I don’t even know her. Is she one of your wives or sisters?”

  Cassius chuckled. “Not hardly. She’s Dom and Reece’s old lady.”

  River frowned, not at all sure what to make of that comment. “Old lady? Their mother?”

  Merrick grunted and crossed his massive arms to glare at her. “Old lady. It means she belongs to Dom and Reece. They’re the club’s president and vice president. We belong to a motorcycle club, darling. The Ghost Riders.”

  River was sure she blinked like a deer caught in the headlights of a truck full of eager hunters. Any minute now, they were going to come out blasting. She hadn’t meant to insult him, but it was obvious by the way he’d bristled up that she had.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t know. No offense. I just wasn’t expecting that for some reason,” she said.

  “What part of the clothes did you miss? The leather vests with our patch, or the boots?” Merrick snarled.

  “Ease up, man. She didn’t know. She almost died. She isn’t exactly noticing our clothes right now,” Cassius said, dropping a hand to his brother’s shoulder.

  Merrick dropped his arms to his sides and opened and closed his fists a few times as if trying to relax. She noticed for the first time that he had tattoos peeking out from beneath his shirt sleeves. She wondered what they were of and if he had more on that massive chest and back of his. Then she looked at his eyes and remembered that he’d just been angry with her. He looked less upset now, but still wasn’t completely over it.

  “People tend to think that because we’re bikers that we’re uneducated and criminals. Most of us in The Ghost Riders don’t have a record at all,” Cassius said with a wide grin.

  River smiled back at him. “That’s okay. I understand. I really didn’t mean to insult you. I just wasn’t thinking in biker terms when you said old lady.”

  Merrick nodded and seemed to relax a little more. Then it hit her. They’d said she was Dom and Reece’s old lady. As in both of them? She carefully schooled her features when she asked the question.

  “So Dom and Reece share Raven? Is that just something they do as the president and vice president or is it a club thing?” River was proud of herself for sounding completely matter of fact with the question.

  Merrick’s quick grin told her she hadn’t fooled him at all. It was one of those smiles that a naughty little boy might have after he’d pulled a girl’s hair in school or stuck a frog down their dress.

  “It’s an acquired taste, darling. Maybe you should consider trying it out,” he said.

  “Fuck, Merrick.” Cassius shook his head with a sigh. “Don’t listen to him. He’s not being serious.”

  Merrick didn’t take his eyes off of River. “I am being serious, brother.”

  Chapter Three

  Breathing usually came naturally. She didn’t have to think about it as a rule. After Merrick’s comment though, River had to think about each of the next two breaths she took before she made them. The picture that formed in her head was all his doing. Her sandwiched between him and his brother, nothing between them but hot, smooth skin, slick with sweat flashed in her mind’s eye drawing a gasp from her.

  “Come on, man,” his brother began.

  “Shocked?” Merrick asked her. “Works real well for them.”

  “Um, I hadn’t really thought about it. I’d think there would be a lot of jealousy between the men,” she said once she started breathing normally again.

  Before Merrick could say anything else that might shock her, someone knocked on the door then walked into the ro
om. With the two giants standing in the way of the door, River couldn’t tell who it was until he cleared his throat and asked the men to move. Her doctor stepped between them with an amused expression on his face.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked.

  “Better. I still can’t remember much, though. When can I leave?” she asked.

  “Not for another few days. You nearly died, young lady. You’re very lucky these two found you when they did. If you continue to eat well and don’t suffer any setbacks, I might discharge you by the weekend,” he said, his face tightened in a serious expression. “I’m not worried about your memory. It isn’t something serious enough to kill you. The head injury was mild, so I’m leaning more to the memory loss being the result of your mind’s way of protecting you from mental and emotional trauma.”

  “You’re saying that what happened to her might have been bad enough that her brain has hidden it so that it won’t traumatize her again to have to think about it,” Cassius said.

  “Right. Now, I need you two gentlemen to step outside while I examine her injuries, and please let the nurse behind you through.” The doctor seemed at ease with the two men and didn’t appear the least bit nervous around them despite their claim to be bikers that were part of some gang.

  “Gotcha,” Cassius said with a grin. Looking back at her, he smiled. “We’ll be right outside the door if you need us.”

  Merrick winked at her and followed his brother out into the hall. The nurse who’d been standing in the doorway moved closer to the hospital bed and grinned at River.

  “Are they really bikers?” she asked.

  “Yes, they are. Good men for the most part, though. Their gang doesn’t really cause trouble, but trouble seems to follow them around,” the man said. “Now, we need to talk now that you’re good and awake. Do you remember anything about what happened to you?”

  River shook her head. “No. All I remember is being in South America documenting the rainforest and how it’s being destroyed. Then I faintly remember walking a long ways, several days maybe. The next thing I remember is waking up here.”